Her Father's Daughter
by RClaybourne
Summary: This is likely a one shot, since I'm sure the story will change once the next ep airs tomorrow. In the meantime, anyone wondering what happens after Deacon and Maddie write/sing their song together, and Deacon and Rayna make eyes at one another? Enjoy! All reviews appreciated! Oh, and these characters below to Nashville, of course!


"That's a really pretty song!" Daphne says enthusiastically when Deacon and Maddie are done singing.

Deacon looks over at Rayna, his eyes overflowing with love, for just a moment, before tossing more praise on his daughter. "Those chords and lyrics were mostly Maddie. Looks like we've got ourselves a songwriter on our hands."

"You think it was good?" Maddie asks Deacon self-consciously.

He raises his eyebrows and nods, a big grin on his face. "Hell, yeah! I thought it was great!"

"Language!" Daphne shouts.

"I thought it was fantastic," Rayna pipes in, smiling.

"Well singing makes ME hungry!" Daphne adds. "Can we go and get pizza now? Can Deacon come, too?"

Rayna is about to say no when she sees Maddie's face light up.

"Well, sure. If you don't have any plans we'd love to have you join us," she offers, taking a risk. Aside from Maddie's open mic performance with Deacon at the Bluebird, they've been careful to keep Maddie's relationship to Deacon quiet. Rayna has talked to Maddie a bit about what could happen if the press got wind of her paternity, and Maddie claimed to understand.

"I've got some time," Deacon says, smiling at the girls, Maddie in particular. "That is, if y'all don't mind having me along." He glances at Rayna and she subtly nods approval. "They've got real good pizza just down the road at 5 Points. Just as good as you get in NY."

"We had the best pizza when we were in NY for mom's tour. Hey, you had your dog then! Where is he?" Daphne asks.

"Oh, you mean Sue? I let my friend Stacey keep him. She's a veterinarian and she's real good with dogs. Sue liked her better anyway. He was a birthday present from Juliette and not the most practical gift."

Rayna smiles. "Well let's go get some pizza!"

Deacon offers to drive and they all pile into his truck.

"This is nice," Rayna offers, looking around the inside of the pick-up.

"State of the art safety features," Deacon adds with a small, self- deprecating smile, which Rayna returns.

Daphne and Maddie chat in the back seat about the new song for the short drive to 5 Points Pizza.

Deacon opens the back door for the girls when they arrive, helping Maddie down from the truck, and putting an elbow around Daphne's knees and carrying her towards the door while she giggles over his head.

As they enter the hostess walks over to Deacon, smiling. "Kelly! What are you doing here? Do you work here now?"

"I've been the manager here since just before the holidays. Our hostess is out with the flu so I get to hold down the fort tonight."

"Oh, I'm sorry, you remember Rayna, right?" Deacon asks, not forgetting the manners his mama taught him.

"Of course! But it's been a long time since those days at the Bluebird! Are these your daughters? Oh, she is just the spitting image of you!" Kelly states kindly, looking from Maddie to Deacon.

Before Rayna or Deacon can interject Maddie offers Kelly her hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Maddie. Nice to meet you. And this is Daphne." Daphne smiles sweetly.

"Well, so nice to meet you both. How about I find you the best table in the house and bring you out some drinks?"

"Do you have pink lemonade?" Daphne asks, while Maddie rolls her eyes.

"We have limeade spritzers that are pretty tasty. Would you like one of those?"

"How about 4 of those," Rayna says, noticing the extensive beer menu and ordering nonalcoholic drinks for everyone out of habit.

Once seated, Daphne asks to use the bathroom and Maddie offers to go with her. Out of earshot of the girls, Deacon offers an apology to Rayna. "I am so sorry about that. I didn't know Kelly even worked here and I-"

Rayna cuts him off. "You don't need to apologize. It's true, Maddie looks just like you. You have the same mannerisms, too. Anyone that's known you for 5 minutes can see that you're related. And anyone that knew the two of us 15 years ago…"

"Have you talked to her about this? About…keeping things quiet?" Deacon asks, unsure of how to approach the topic.

"Of course I have! We talked about what could happen if the press found out, and what it could mean to each of us. She said she understood, but, that was before she started spending time with you…"

"I haven't said anything to her about this," Deacon jumps in defensively. "I don't need anybody to know whether or not she's mine, Ray. All I care about is whether she's happy. I don't want her to be hurt by any of the mistakes that I've made. At least, not any more than she already has been."

"No. Deacon. I wasn't implying you'd said anything to her. I just think your relationship has changed. She's thinking of you as her father now." Deacon looks down at his glass. Rayna takes a deep breath and exhales. "I think I need to have a talk with her again. I think it'd be good if we talked to her, together. Are you willing to do that? Otherwise, I know Maddie and she's just going to be concerned with your feelings and not what the press will do with this."

"Ray, whatever you think is best. I can drive to your place after we're done here."

Rayna nods as she catches the girls out of the corner of her eye. "That would be good."

"Hey, there they are!" Deacon says, changing face as the girls return. "Who's up for T Rex pizza?!"

"Does that have vegetables?" Daphne asks, scrunching up her nose.

"T-Rexes are carnivores, you goof! I'm guessing it's a meat pie." Maddie responds, leaving off the "duh" at the end.

After Deacon and Daphne devour their T-Rex pizza and Rayna and Maddie share a vegetarian pie Daphne starts asking about desert.

"Actually, it's getting kind of late and you were talking about watching a movie tonight. What if Deacon picks up some ice cream and meets us at our house and we can all have desert together?

"Can you bring chocolate chip cookie dough?" Daphne asks, arms folded, wearing her most serious expression. Maddie looks at her mother, somewhat suspiciously, but doesn't say anything.

"I can even bring chocolate sauce." Deacon responds, fully winning the child over.

About an hour later Deacon arrives to find the girls curled up on the sofa in their PJs watching a chick flick. Rayna is waiting for him in the kitchen.

"Well, should we get this over with?" She asks him.

Deacon nods and Rayna calls Maddie over. "Hey Maddie, can we talk to you for a minute in the other room?"

Maddie complies. "Is this about what happened at the restaurant, with your friend Kelly?" Maddie has a slight edge to her voice.

"Yeah, it is. Come in here." They head to the other room and sit down. "Sweetie, remember a few months ago when we talked about what might happen if the press found out Deacon is your father?"

"I remember." Maddie responds defensively, a stubborn set to her jaw. "Did you want me to lie to her?"

"Well, no but-"

Deacon watches Rayna, struggling to find the right words. "Sweetie, I think what your mama's trying to say is that sometimes we can just kind of, change the subject a bit, avoiding the answer altogether."

"Is that what _you_ want me to do?" Deacon is slightly taken aback by her tone. "Look, I know you don't want me to be hurt by stupid gossip, and I know you think they'll say bad things about you guys and about Dad but why does it even need to be a thing. Do you need to make a press release about everything?" Rayna and Deacon glance at one another. Maddie is beginning to get frustrated but she takes a deep breath, calming herself down. "I don't want anyone to be hurt either, but I am willing to risk it. Lots of my friends have more than two parents. It's really not a big deal. If you're worried, no one has to know that I didn't know the truth my whole life. But I'm not willing to lie anymore. It feels weird. It doesn't seem right."

Maddie sits back into the sofa, pulling her knees up and folding her arms around them.

Rayna sighs and leans forward, resting her chin in one hand, her other coming to her forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

Deacon gets up and sits next to Maddie and gathers his thoughts for a minute. "Maddie, sweet heart, I will support whatever you decide to do. The press can say whatever they want about me. I'm used to it. I am so sorry that the mistakes I've made, my drinking, are coming back to haunt you. I would do anything to make that not happen. I am so proud to have you as my daughter. I love you so much and we all just want to protect you, the best way we know how."

"Then why don't you want people to know I'm your daughter?" Maddie asks, fighting back tears.

Deacon rubs his hands over his face as Rayna quietly watches their interactions, waiting to step in if she needs to. "Maddie. Are you kiddin' me? I look forward to every minute that we spend together. I would be happy to tell the world that you are mine. But I don't even want to share this with you because I don't want you worryin' about what I want!" This is the harshest tone Deacon has ever used with Maddie and she sits up straighter, eyes wide. " I worry about what people would say to YOU, about the kind of person I…was…and what they might say about your mother. A lot of it might not be so nice. You shouldn't have to deal with any of that."

"Deacon, I can handle what they say about me," Rayna interjects.

"So, if neither of you care, can't we just all move on, and live our lives, and be seen in public together? I know things might be hard at first but things always get better, right? And maybe this time next year everything will be perfectly normal. And we can spend more time together. Right now I feel like every time I see Deacon I'm doing something wrong." She looks over at her mother, a tear makes its way down Maddie's cheek and she angrily brushes it away, pulling her knees back up. "It doesn't seem right to say that you're my guitar teacher!" Deacon leans back against the cushions and looks over at Rayna, a look of defeat in his eyes.

"I agree. Alright, then. If you're sure-"

Maddie cuts Rayna off. "I'm sure! Now, can I go back and watch the movie, and eat some ice cream, and be a normal 14 year old?"

Rayna smiles softly. "Yeah, go ahead."

Maddie starts to walk out of the room but instead turns back to Rayna. "I love you, mom." She hugs her, then walks over to Deacon and hugs him, too. "I love you, Maddie, and I think you are one of the strongest people I know." She smiles at him and then heads off to finish her movie.

Deacon watches her leave, then grins over at Rayna. "She is truly amazing, " he says, completely in awe of their daughter.

"We made her." Rayna smiles back at him. Deacon smiles back at her, his heart so full of love it feels like it's going to burst through his chest.

Rayna moves over to sit next to him. "You were great with her. I think that was exactly what she needed to hear," she compliments. "I think you've become a great dad, and she is so lucky to have you in her life. "

Deacon covers her hand with his own, giving it a squeeze. "How about we go grab some of that ice cream before they eat it all? I got you some strawberry…"

Rayna smiles, then reaches over and gives him a tight hug. Deacon squeezes back, and cradles her head in his hand. He lets out a breath and pulls back. "I think we're all going to be okay."

At that moment they lock eyes with each other, at the same time reaching in for a long, lingering kiss, both of them feeling hopeful for the first time in a long, long while.

THE END


End file.
